U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Office Building (787) 754-6000 150 Carlos Chardon Avenue
Suite 526
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

Yesterday, October 18, 2006, a Federal Grand Jury in the U.S. District of Puerto Rico issued a superseding indictment charging Amilcar Matias-Torres, age 51, with three additional counts of Coercion and Enticement in addition to the federal indictment of October 4, 2006 . This superseding indictment alleges Matias-Torres attempted to Persuade, Induce, Entice, and Coerce three other minors under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, and the ages of these minors were 14, 15, and 13. This superseding indictment further alleges that these violations occurred within the period of on or about August 2003 through October 2006. If convicted of these federal violations, Matias-Torres now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten (10) years and a maximum of life imprisonment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) again requests the public’s assistance of any minors under the age of eighteen years old or the parents of any minors who believe that their children may have had contact with Amilcar Matias-Torres, also known as (aka): "Anthony", "Papote", "Angel Luis", and "Christian". Matias-Torres is alleged to have used the following cellular telephone numbers to contact his potential victims: (787) 677-8828, (787) 382-9210, and (787) 202-6873. It is further believed Matias-Torres would use what is known as the TV Chat system to send video text messages to his potential victims by way of a local TV video channel late at night and request photographs. Other times he would simply call the females who posted their telephone numbers on the TV Chat system.

Any minors or the parents of a minor who believe that their children may have had contact with Amilcar Matias-Torres, as well as anyone with information should contact the San Juan FBI, 24 hours a day at (787) 754-6000.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau (NIE, initials as known in Spanish), the Puerto Rico Department of Justice-Interpol Division, and the Police of Puerto Rico (POPR). This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jenifer Y. Hernandez-Vega and Jose Capo Iriarte.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of any guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial. The U.S. government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.